Reinsurance News
Investment in automation helping insurance margins stay resilient: J.P. Morgan
9th August 2017
The increasing trend among insurance companies to invest in automation, particularly around the claims handling process, has disrupted the insurance cycle and is the main reason margins are higher than some would have expected at this point in the cycle, according to analysts at J.P. Morgan. Margins in the non-life insurance ... Read the full article
Munich Re beats expectations, although reinsurance clearly pressured
9th August 2017
Reinsurance giant Munich Re reported a decline in its second-quarter profits this morning, as lower reinsurance profitability eclipsed improved performance in its Ergo primary division. However the reinsurer beat analyst expectations and remains on track for its 2017 targets. Pressures in the reinsurance market continue to be evident in the largest ... Read the full article
Argo expands in reinsurance thanks to Ariel Re acquisition
8th August 2017
Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. has expanded its reinsurance portfolio with the help of the scale and reach added following the acquisition of Ariel Re. Overall Argo has increased its gross written premiums by almost 23% to $687.2 million in Q2 2017, but in its international business the reinsurance growth ... Read the full article
Hedge fund reinsurers’ performance lags behind traditional players: S&P
8th August 2017
Despite increasing numbers of hedge fund reinsurance (HFRs) start-ups entering the soft P&C reinsurance marketplace, their performance lags behind that of traditional Bermudian reinsurers with many yet to generate an underwriting profit, Standard & Poor's (S&P) said in a recent report. This calls into question how sustainable the HFR strategy will be ... Read the full article
London market data capture solution launched by the LMG
8th August 2017
The London Market Group (LMG) has announced that one of the core solutions within the London Market Target Operating Model (LM TOM), called Structured Data Capture (SDC), is now live for terrorism, financial lines, marine, and property and casualty. SDC is an online service that converts the policy wordings of a ... Read the full article
Fitch expects Asian reinsurers to increase use of debt capital
8th August 2017
Fitch Ratings expects the Asian bond market to gain traction in the near to medium term as the persistent low-interest rate environment fuels reinsurers in the region to look at debt capital over equity funding. The majority of reinsurance companies across Asia are equity-funded, but in a low-interest rate environment, which ... Read the full article
Susan Lane joins Willis Towers Watson’s Global Captive practice in Bermuda
8th August 2017
Global insurance and reinsurance broker, Willis Towers Watson, has announced the appointment of Susan Lane as director, consulting and development for North America and senior captive consultant, based in Bermuda. Lane was previously the co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tokio Solution Management, and her new role sees her form part of Willis' ... Read the full article
Global life reinsurance industry poised for continued growth momentum: S&P
8th August 2017
Global ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) expects emerging life insurance regions, such as the Asia-Pacific, and continued growth in the longevity risk transfer space to drive the expansion of the international life reinsurance sector. Over the last three years S&P has observed strong growth momentum in the longevity risk transfer space, ... Read the full article
Aon Netherlands to acquire UMG from Aegon for €295 million
8th August 2017
Netherlands-based subsidiary of insurance and reinsurance brokerage Aon, Aon Groep Nederland, has announced that it will acquire Unirobe Meeùs Groep (UMG) from Aegon for €295 million (US$348.4 million). The deal is expected to close in the fourth-quarter of this year, and remains subject to council advice and approval from Dutch regulators. The ... Read the full article
Insurance sector M&A declines in H1 but expected to rebound: Clyde & co
8th August 2017
The volume of insurance mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first-half of 2017 declined by 8.6% to 170 deals when compared with the preceding six months, although more deals are expected in the remainder of the year, according to Clyde & Co. Clyde & Co's recently published mid-year 2017 Growth Report ... Read the full article
Fitch predicts continued premium rate declines in Asia as reinsurance competition intensifies
8th August 2017
Rating Agency Fitch has predicted a continued trend of softening reinsurance premium rates for the remainder of 2017 in Asia, as competition intensifies with both established reinsurers expanding operations in the region and increasing numbers of start-ups joining the playing field. Capital abundance has brought further declines to Asia's reinsurance premium ... Read the full article
Price declines steeper than expected as surplus capital defines market: Morgan Stanley
7th August 2017
Morgan Stanley analysts predict reinsurance pricing will continue to soften in the 0-5% range as traditional and alternative reinsurance capital attracts increasing numbers of investors seeking the safety of uncorrelated assets, making a market turn unlikely in the near future. Pricing pressure in reinsurance has followed the trend of decline of ... Read the full article
Mutual Reinsurance Bureau commences search for new CEO
7th August 2017
The current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mutual Reinsurance Bureau (MRB), Timothy Dorr, is to retire from the joint reinsurance association once a new CEO has been chosen. Dorr has served as the Illinois-based joint reinsurance association's CEO since 2010, and has announced plans to retire once a replacement CEO has ... Read the full article
GIC Re files for IPO
7th August 2017
India's state-backed reinsurance company, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. According to a draft red herring prospectus, filed August 7th, 2017, the firm plans to sell 17.2 million new shares, while the government, which currently ... Read the full article
Ransomware attacks up by 50% in H1 2017: Beazley
7th August 2017
Insurer Beazley has said that during the first six months of this year ransomware attacks increased by 50% when compared with the previous year, with accidental breaches also continuing to drive a significant volume of losses. The insurer has released its H1 2017 Beazley Breach Insight report, which, based on its ... Read the full article
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